BACK TO TOP |
MAINLAND
Consumer confidence lowest in 10 years WASHINGTON >> U.S. consumer confidence fell this month to the lowest in more than a decade as heightened concern about an Iraq war and soaring energy bills threaten to slow spending and the economy.
"The overhang of the war is clearly a damper on the economy," Treasury Secretary John Snow said after a speech in Columbus, Ohio. "When people are nervous they don't spend as much."
The University of Michigan's index of sentiment fell to 75, the lowest since October 1992, when the economy had trouble creating jobs, from 79.9 in February. Confidence has declined every month this year and consumer demand is beginning to wane, prompting manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co. to cut production.
Manufacturing dropped in February for a fourth month in six, a Federal Reserve report showed. Record gasoline prices at the pump and higher home heating bills are reducing spending on other goods. That may restrain growth because consumer purchases account for more than two-thirds of the economy.
"The economy has stalled," said Kenneth Lewis, chief executive officer at Bank of America Corp., told Bloomberg News. Lewis said his biggest customers have curbed borrowing because of war concerns. "We've had a month of virtual paralysis waiting for something to happen" in the Middle East, he said.
Jackson loses $5.3 million verdict
LOS ANGELES >> A German concert promoter who sued pop music star Michael Jackson over a series of canceled millennium concerts, including one in Hawaii, has been awarded $5.3 million by a California jury, his attorney said yesterday.Attorney Skip Miller said the jury in the city of Santa Maria awarded Marcel Avram nearly all of the $5.9 million in lost profits he had been seeking.
Jackson's multiple days of testimony at the trial late last year made headlines around the world.
Avram had sued Jackson claiming that the pop star backed out of a series of 1999 concerts after unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate his contracts. Avram said the pop star agreed to headline 1999 charity shows in South Korea and Germany, followed by New Year's Eve concerts in Australia and Hawaii, but backed out of the millennium events. Avram alleged Jackson owes him millions of dollars spent to organize, promote and produce the shows.
Justice Department opens Monsanto probe
ST. LOUIS >> The Justice Department is investigating Monsanto Co. for possible antitrust practices in the herbicide industry, the agricultural and biotech giant disclosed in a regulatory filing.St. Louis-based Monsanto, maker of the Roundup weedkiller, said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday that the probe involves "possible anticompetitive conduct in the glyphosate- based herbicide industry."
Glyphosate is a key ingredient in Roundup.
Monsanto spokeswoman Lori Fisher said today the company believes that the Justice Department has requested information from various glyphosate marketers and distributors, and that Monsanto has cooperated with the government's "very broad-based" request for information.
Stores protest direct 'Potter' sales
NEW YORK >> The U.S. publisher of the new "Harry Potter" novel is selling some copies straight to readers. Bookstores complain that means less business for them.Over the past couple of weeks, Scholastic Children's Books has been taking orders for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" at school fairs around the country. A portion of the proceeds goes to the schools.
Publishers have an obvious motive to sell direct: They keep more of the money. But this is the first time a Potter book has been pre-sold, offered before publication. And some retailers say they can't afford to lose any sales during a difficult economic time.
Oil dives as dealers look beyond war
World oil prices slumped today as investment hedge funds bailed out of crude markets in anticipation that a U.S. war against Iraq could start soon and finish quickly.Crude oil for April delivery was down 63 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $35.38 a barrel at the close of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
JAPAN
Daiei's lenders to swap, waive debt TOKYO >> Daiei Inc. will gain ¥40 billion ($337 million) of debt relief in waivers and debt-for-equity swaps from UFJ Bank Ltd. and five other lenders to help it reorganize, Nikkei English News reported.
The arrangement will allow the retailer to reduce interest-bearing debt held by its real estate operation, Fukuoka Daiei Real Estate Inc., to ¥60 billion from ¥130 billion, Nikkei said.
Daiei plans to separate its real estate operations' finances from those of the whole company, eventually issuing ¥10 billion of new stock. Daiei intends to reduce debt by another ¥20 billion by selling property and its stake in Recruit Co., Nikkei said. The lenders include UFJ Bank, Bank of Fukuoka Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., Fukuoka City Bank Ltd. and Nishi-Nippon Bank Ltd., Nikkei said.
| | | PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION E-mail to Business Editor
Text Site Directory:
© 2003 Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- https://archives.starbulletin.com
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Do It Electric!]
[Classified Ads] [Search] [Subscribe] [Info] [Letter to Editor]
[Feedback]
-Advertisement-
